


Absence

by OmniscientProstitute



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: 3 plus 1 sort of, Fluff, M/M, Oikawa reminiscing about Iwaizumi, the slightest of angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-29
Updated: 2020-06-29
Packaged: 2021-03-04 05:13:34
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,803
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24988108
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OmniscientProstitute/pseuds/OmniscientProstitute
Summary: There were very few moments in Oikawa’s life where he was glad for the absence of his best friend at his side. He could count them all on one hand, which he was happy about. Whenever Oikawa wanted to be away from Iwaizumi’s presence, something upsetting was happening.
Relationships: Iwaizumi Hajime/Oikawa Tooru
Comments: 2
Kudos: 37





	Absence

There were very few moments in Oikawa’s life where he was glad for the absence of his best friend at his side. He could count them all on one hand, which he was happy about. Whenever Oikawa wanted to be away from Iwaizumi’s presence, something upsetting was happening.

The first time Oikawa couldn’t have been older than thirteen. He had been washing his hands and preparing to go back to class when a boy from the year above came into the bathroom. The boy was well known around the school; he and his friends controlled who was deemed cool and uncool. The boy had decided to dislike Oikawa within minutes of meeting because the girl he liked thought the younger boy was cute. The older boy had reiterated his dislike of Oikawa numerous times since then, although it was never said directly in a one on one conversation. The boy had never been known to be violent, but a tendril of fear still wrapped around Oikawa’s heart. He almost wished for Iwaizumi to come barreling into the bathroom and defend him. He almost did, but then he remembered what the teacher said that morning, threatening Iwaizumi with suspension for a week if he got into another fight. Iwaizumi had always been quick to anger and at the age of thirteen had no control over how he expressed his emotions. So whenever someone was mean to Oikawa, they would receive a push, kick, or punch almost immediately. Oikawa hated when Iwaizumi got scolded or punished because of him, and it would eat him alive if his best friend got suspended because of him. The older boy, whose name had been forgotten with time, scared Oikawa, but a week without Iwaizumi upset him even more. So, as the older boy did his best to tear the younger boy down, Oikawa kept his head held high and a smile on his face. Iwaizumi didn’t learn about the incident until a drunk Oikawa let it spill during a game of Truth or Dare at one of the end of season parties.

The second time was only three years later, when Oikawa was in high school. He had managed to snag a girlfriend that summer. She was nice and soft and cute; everything he was supposed to want. She laughed at all of his dumb jokes and complemented his physical appearance, even though at that point he was mostly scrawny with a little bit of muscle. Oikawa thought they were happy. He was looking forward to seeing her cheering for him during games. It would be impressive, a first year with his own fan club. However, the relationship ended two weeks into the season. The break-up was loud and public, occurring in the middle of the hall outside of the history classroom during a passing period. She began the shaming by letting anyone who could hear now that Oikawa loved volleyball more than he loved her, which was true. He had only been peripherally aware of her before she confessed to him. He had said yes because she was cute and interested. The most important things in his life had always been volleyball and Iwaizumi. That was where the real trouble hid. She was jealous because her boyfriend paid more attention to his best friend than his girlfriend. It was an undeniable statement. Oikawa preferred to have dates that he could drag Iwaizumi along, and if Iwaizumi texted him in the middle of a movie night, dinner date, or make-out session Oikawa never hesitated to answer it. He felt bad for making her feel bad, but he wouldn’t have been able to stop the behavior if he wanted to. She ended the speech by pushing Oikawa’s chest, making him take a step back, and telling him to just date his best friend if he was so in love. Had Iwaizumi witnessed the altercation, he would have reacted badly. At the age of sixteen he was no longer prone to casually violence to anyone but Oikawa or the boys on the volleyball team, and he hadn’t hit a girl since he was six, but he would have stepped in, essentially proving her statement correct. Oikawa’s only option was to apologize and attempt to exit the situation with dignity. He would worry about what to say to Iwaizumi during his next class because there was no chance that Iwaizumi hadn’t been immediately notified.

The third time happened only months later at the end of the volleyball season and after months of questioning and repressing his sexuality. He didn’t have an issue with homosexuality; it just wasn’t supposed to apply to him. He was supposed to be the future captain of the volleyball team, a heart throb, and a ladies man. But after a tearfilled sleepless night and a conversation with Hanamaki and Matsukawa that he really should have had with Iwaizumi, Oikawa decided to discard everything he was supposed to be in order to be who he was. It was an inspiring moment and prompted him to go public. He made the announcement at the end of Monday practice when everyone was in the locker room changing out of their practice clothes. It was overly dramatic and entirely unnecessary, but it felt good to publicly claim that part of himself. He had also been a little scared about his team’s reaction, but nobody cared. He was the best setter they had who cared who he was into as long as there was a chance Oikawa could take them to nationals. Iwaizumi had made a weird face at the announcement, but he still walked Oikawa home and gave him a strong hug before finishing the walk to his own house. Oikawa knew the next step was to confess his feelings to Iwaizumi. He figured he’d give his best friend a week to calibrate before springing another surprise after practice announcement. However, that plan didn’t last long. The next morning Oikawa found himself waiting patiently for Iwaizumi to arrive at their meeting spot, so they could walk to school together. Iwaizumi had made sure Oikawa planned to walk with him. When Iwaizumi did show up, he was holding two cups of coffee from the shop down the street and he looked different. His school uniform looked crisp and clean which meant he had to have ironed it. He appeared to have attempted to style his hair. He also had a nice blush high on his cheeks which only got worse as he handed Oikawa his drink and confessed his own feelings for Oikawa. Out of all of the confessions Oikawa ended up receiving in high school, Iwaizumi’s was hands down his favorite. It was the first time he’d ever seen his best friend look bashful.

The fourth time happened almost a decade later. Tooru had retired from professional volleyball due to his knee being unable to handle the exertion. He was back in Japan coaching a high school team while living out his domestic dreams with his husband Hajime, who was a very successful figure in sports medicine. They had recently bought their own house which meant a whole handful of new chores.Tooru’s favorite chore was grocery shopping. Hajime had become a fantastic cook, and Tooru loved to find weird and exotic foods to challenge his husband with. The only downside was that it could take him ours to get back from the supermarket depending on how many people recognized him from his short career on the Japan national team. Occasionally he ran into people from high school, who he felt obligated to catch up with, such as his first and only girlfriend. “I see you got married.” She gestured to the gold band on his finger. “Did you manage to tame that brute?”

Tooru stood confused for a moment before realizing that she was talking about his Hajime. Tooru plastered a smile on his face. “Yes. We got married four years ago. It was small, just family and friends you know.” Tooru worked to end the conversation quickly yet politely, thinking about how if Hajime had been with them, he would have started brooding and intimidating the woman. They would have been asked to leave the store, and Tooru wouldn’t be able to return to his favorite supermarket out of embarrassment. It had angered him when she called Hajime a brute.Tooru was allowed to do that because he was joking and knew how soft and considerate his husband actually was. She was calling him a brute because of who he was in high school. Sure when they were in public or with Hanamaki and Matsukawa, Hajime would swat at Torru for openly flirting with him and being purposefully obnoxious, and he still called Tooru unfortunate vulgar nicknames despite his last name no longer being Oikawa. But, that was all in jest. He had calmed down naturally over time. Years of loving someone you can only physically be with for a couple weeks every three or four months changed a person. Even Tooru had changed; within the first month of being apart, he had completely ceased to casually flirt with people other than Hajime. It just felt gross when his boyfriend wasn’t around to be jealous. In actuality, Hajime had never really been a brute. Since day one he had always loved Toory and done anything he could to make Tooru happy. He had always been intelligent and well spoken. He had just struggled to process his emotions and lashed out because of that. After three steady months of being in a happy relationship, Hajime only really got violent as a joke. 

Tooru was still frowning about the woman’s comment when he got home. He really didn’t take kindly to people insulting his husband, to his face no less. “What’s that face for, Assikawa?” Hajime was standing in the kitchen shirtless with a glass of water in his hand. He had spent the afternoon working in the yard, and Tooru was a little disappointed that he had missed the chance to ogle his husband. Despite quitting volleyball after high school, Hajime still stuck to a strict workout regimen, not that Tooru was complaining. He lived for a sweaty mostly naked Iwaizumi Hajime.

“They were out of my preferred brand of Tofu.” Tooru accepted a kiss from Hajime before they began putting the groceries away. “I know we were talking about going out tonight, but what do you think about ordering food in and watching a movie?” Tooru playfully bit his lip and dragged his eyes down Hajime’s naked torso.

“Sounds good.” The tips of Hajime’s ears were pink. “Maybe we could open that bottle of wine Matsukawa gave us for our anniversary.”

“And, we could break out the whipped cream?”

“Whatever makes you happy Iwaizumi Tooru. Whatever makes you happy.”


End file.
